Air India and Indigo cancel flights between India and China
Mumbai:
Following the travel advisory for China issued by the Indian government, Air India and IndiGo announced the suspension of flights from India to China, effective from February 1.
“We have seen a high number of cancellations on our Delhi-Chengdu route. Therefore, we are suspending our flights between Delhi and Chengdu from February 01, 2020 until February 20, 2020. We are also suspending our Bengaluru-Hong Kong flight effective February 01, 2020,” read a statement by IndiGo.
IndiGo’s spokesperson said these were “purely temporary and precautionary measures” and impacted passengers would receive full refunds. However, IndiGo’s flight from Kolkata to Guangzhou remains operational. “We are monitoring [it] on a daily basis,” said the spokesperson.
Air India cancelled its Mumbai- Delhi (AI 348) flight which also operates as AI 349 from Delhi to Shanghai. The flight will remain cancelled till February 14.
Other international airlines operating between India and China are yet to announce any changes in their schedules.
Passengers from China are being scanned using thermal screening at Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Kochi airports.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said that thermal screening would be extended to 20 more Indian airports. In Mumbai, over 3,756 passengers have been screened for the suspected coronavirus in the past nine days.